Dynamo Edge It, Title Still In Balance

07.03.2013

EUROCUP WOMEN

Ilona Korstin showed great hustle to lead Dynamo Moscow to the first-leg win

The destiny of the 2013 EuroCup Women title still hangs firmly in the balance after Dynamo Moscow corralled a five-point lead to take to Kayseri Kaski spor next week, courtesy of a hard fought 66-61 first-leg win.

In a tense contest in the Russian capital, the home side had the edge for long periods, but never truly threatened to fully maximise home advantage as Kayseri offered stiff resistance.

The game began with Dynamo scoring eight of the first ten points, only for the visitors to respond with an 8-2 run of their own to level matters.

Led by the aggressive stance and impressive all-round influence and hustle play of Ilona Korstin, the hosts surged ahead with seven unanswered points.

But, Kayseri again managed to keep in touching distance, although they were a little concerned when a nice jump-shot on the buzzer by Tatiana Vidmer put Dynamo 24-15 ahead, off the back of another seven points without reply.

Kayseri adjusted their defence in the second quarter and stepped up the way they contested shots, and it paid dividends, as five first half blocks helped restrict Dynamo to a paltry eight points in the period.

That helped Kayseri to establish a much firmer foothold in the game and their momentum wasn't disrupted after the interval.

Trailing 32-31 at the break, they even managed to go 39-34 ahead after a basket by Evanthia Maltsi.

There was nothing seperating the teams at the end of the penultimate quarter with scores tied at 45, although a rare triple from Svetlana Abrosimova got Dynamo rolling as they threatened to get hot just at the right time.

A spectacular fast-break play from Kristi Toliver made it 59-52 with less than four minutes remaining, but Kayseri did enough down the stretch to limit the damage and give themselves a great opportunity in the second leg.